Rich+DysingerLBF

Executive Summary
**The survey was conducted using a wide range of respondents (age, education level, gender) and delivered results that were not only similar, but demonstrated a clear definition of fun and boring lessons.** The survey and its link were sent out to approximately seven people although only four have responded as of yet (and only when I asked them to please sit at my computer and complete the survey). The range of age was from 11 – 50 years of age and the education level included a student that is currently in sixth grade and a doctoral candidate. Despite this wide range of respondents and their varying characteristics, I found their responses to be very similar. Iwakuni Dale, Mr. D’s student, Rich’s Dad and Mr. Excitement all mentioned that the boring lessons they can recall were very teacher centered. The classes required sitting, watching and recalling details but little else. The opposite was found for the fun lessons. These were often active, interactive, and utilized technology or performance activity in a meaningful manner.

What Makes Learning Boring?

 * 1) **Most respondents found lessons that were teacher centered tended to be more boring than other coursework.** Rich’s Dad mentioned in detail that the course he most vividly recalls as boring dealt with the diagramming of sentences in which the instructor wrote sentence son the board and modeled how they were diagrammed. The work was centered entirely on the teacher with plenty of examples and modeling but little actual work by the students. When a lesson is centered on the instructor, it leads to a lack of pupil involvement. When a student is not engaged in the task, it can lead to wandering mind and eyes.
 * 2) **Most respondents found lessons that failed to include a performance element to be more boring than other coursework.** Mr. D’s student stated that she found the lesson boring essentially because there was nothing for her to do but sit and listen. The lesson lacked a performance element. Alfredo mentioned something very similar in which the instructor spoke about a historical figure (Hitler) but created very little interaction among the student body. Instead it was a sit and get procedure with the student locked into one place and far from stimulated. They were not required to perform any function other than sitting still and listening.
 * 3) **Most respondents found lessons in which the teacher was the only person speaking and little class discussion was involved.** In general, numerous respondents mentioned that the boring lessons involved the teacher speaking at students and not with students. Over seventy percent of the boring lessons cataloged in the LBF inventory listed interaction with other students as not being involved at all. Kaybee mentioned such a situation by stating that the presenter was less focused on active participation and it was “as if the presenter was more focused on getting through the material than interacting with the audience.” Such a delivery of a lesson leads to a lack of involvement by the audience.
 * 4) **Most respondents found lessons that failed to include an interactive activity of some sort. **Over ninety percent of those respondents in the overall survey mentioned that sitting still was a requirement of the lesson and that moving around was not an integral part of the lesson curriculum. Democan mentioned in detail how the lack of interaction doomed an online course he was taking. The lack of interactive activity leads to a lack of stimulation. Students interact best when given the opportunity to share ideas or express views with their fellow students. The active construction of knowledge often involves interaction with others.
 * 5) **Most respondents found lessons that focused on remembering rather than thinking creatively.** The majority of boring lessons did not require thinking creatively as a component of the lesson (74%) but instead focused primarily on remembering (66%). Mountain man mentioned that it seemed as if the solicitation of comments was perfunctory and that the overall goal was to take notes, remember the material and prep for the next exam. Such activities require only recall, quite literally drill and kill and do not add to the engagement of the students. The student does not actively review the incoming information or even solicit an emotional connection which can lead to the mind wandering.

What Makes Learning Fun?
1. **Most respondents found lessons that require physical movement as the most satisfying and entertaining**. A large majority (nearly half) found that enjoyment of a lesson increased with the opportunity to move around during a lesson. Such kinesthetic movements increased enjoyment by allowing students more freedom to express their learning. Jake11 mentioned a PE course in which he was required to copy workout moves from a video while an instructor provided more detailed instruction. The physical movement and enjoyment of moving his body and reacting as he learned seemed to greatly increase his enjoyment and engagement. 2. **Most respondents found lessons that require the students to perform or present in some fashion as the most entertaining**. 61.4 percent of respondents found activities that centered around performing or presenting aided their enjoyment of the lesson. Kelly discussed an activity that specifically required her to perform an activity related to the world, more specifically preparing herself for living life in a profession of her choice. The students were required to perform an activity and present the information. Such activities require active participation by the students which increase engagement. 3. **Most respondents found lessons that urged creative thinking as the most entertaining for students**. Over 65 percent of respondents found that enjoyment increased with the inclusion of creative thinking activities. SuperMom discussed the opportunity to think creatively in the creation of a video project for a class. The students were required to come up with tier own slogans and advertisement for a product they created. Such synthesis of ideas allows students to move beyond linear thinking to include not only collaboration but also identifying new ways of expressing “old” thoughts. 4. **Most respondents found lessons that urged interaction with fellow students as the most entertaining.** The majority of participants (68.2%) in the LBF survey stated that they enjoyed the opportunity to interact with their peers as a means for creating more enjoyment from a lesson. The interaction encourages students to actively respond in a meaningful way with their peers and also encourages social exchanges with others. Jim H stated that “social interaction with peers” was a vital element of his enjoying a lesson. This helps to increase engagement and allows the students more time to actively construct their knowledge schemas. 5. **Most respondents found lessons that allowed students to interact with technology as the most satisfying and entertaining.** A slight majority (55%) favored such additions to a lesson as increasing the enjoyment of a lesson and thereby it’s effectiveness. While this is seemingly a small majority that favors such tools with a lesson, specific examples are found throughout the LBF inventory. Mr. D’s student mentions that the use of “cool science probes” aided a lesson and made it more interactive for her. She enjoyed the idea of measuring the velocity of an object by using a gadget that displays graphic readings instantaneously.

Implications
The review of the survey and its relevant data will help target my future project and lesson delivery to include more elements that urge active engagement by the student body. Obviously, this is the exact type of data you want to explore when designing future lessons. This pool of data represents a very wide range of personalities, abilities and characteristics. The sampling also provides the surveyor with observations that are both qualitative and quantitative to help their analysis. Using the data in a formative manner will allow me to target specific engagement styles in my lessons, as well as designing lessons that focus primarily on those activities that increase enjoyment. This is basically the same thing advertisers do to lure in an audience so why not with instruction. Especially as educational technologists, we need to design our systems to meet customer satisfaction.